March 2022 News from Elizabeth

Florence, Artichokes & Puglia

Hello from Rome where things are definitely starting to feel springy. I just bought some primroses for the terrace to brighten it up, and the other day, while I was in the Forum, I spotted a huge acacia tree in full bright yellow bloom. Up in Umbria, where we are spending every weekend, the daffodils (above) are going wild and I even spotted a few crocuses. So far, the only wild asparagus I’ve found are in the market in Rome (below), but I’m heading up to Umbria this weekend so I have my hopes that I’ll find enough to make a frittata or this pasta.

As you can see (below) the markets here are full of the most glorious artichokes which I am doing my very best to eat daily. My sister Jodi was here last week and I think we actually managed to have them twice a day. While I love them deep fried , I would never attempt to fry them at home. Instead, I think my favorite way to cook (and eat) them at home is either Alla Romana (cooked in my instant pot) or else roasted, which is as easy as it gets. Jodi loved the artichoke salads we had at restaurants here and is going to be trying them out back in Rhode Island (If you’re anywhere near Barrington you can stop in the bookstore and find out if she’s actually made it. )

But the biggest sign of spring is that we will finally be able to plant our vegetable garden up in Umbria. We usually have at least a bit of something growing this time of year. But due to a very hot August/September and the fact that we were both so busy with work, we have no winter garden. It’s so bare I can’t stand it! This weekend we’ll be seeding things like salad, arugula, Swiss chard and spinach. And hopefully pick up some plants as well, to get started on peas and maybe some flowers.

WHAT’S NEW

Sophie and I are getting ready for all of our spring trips. The first one is in 10 days, and I’m looking forward to hanging out with Melissa again, and exploring more of Sicily. This is the first time we’ll be doing this specific tour, which is partly based in the countryside, at the gorgeous Baglio Occhipinti. We’ll be spending 4 nights there, exploring the countryside, towns and wineries of this area, before moving on to Ortigia for our last two nights. I’ve already booked the hotels for more tours in 2023 (yay!!) , and will be announcing the details soon (first to Premium Subscribers, then to the website).

We’re also excited about all of our upcoming Puglia tours. Puglia is glorious all year round, but spring is especially beautiful, since the countryside fills with brilliant wildflowers. Since most of our Puglia tours are full, we’ve added an extra week, and still have a few spots left on our trip to Puglia at the end of April. We’ll be based in Bari and taking day trips to make burrata, visit Matera, have lunch by the sea, and of course making (and eating) orecchiette with our friends in Bari Vecchia. Send me an email for details.

We’ve got three tours to Umbria in the next few months! My sister Robin will be helping me lead the tour in May and in June Evan is spending the week with us. Can I tell you how lucky I am to be able to work with my best friends? I know there is that saying ‘if you love what you do, then you will never work a day in your life.’ I’d like to add hanging out with friends like Robin, Evan and Melissa to that saying. How lucky am I? We’ve still got a few spots left for Umbria in May and June. Send me an email for details.

As subscribers to my Premium newsletter already know, I announced a new tour to Parma in October. It sold out within hours. With this in mind I’ve added a second week, October 30-November 5, 2022. And it’s already almost full! IThere are two spots left and if you’d like to know more, send me a email.

I’ll be posting more tours for 2022 and 2023 in the next few weeks. The notice will go out first to Premium Subscribers, then I’ll add them to the calendar here.

And remember, if you are coming to Rome, Sophie leads Market Tours Monday through Friday. She’s also thinking of doing a special weekly Sunday in Rome tour which is sure to include a long lazy lunch. Stay tuned for that.

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WHAT I’M READING

I’ve almost finished with The Maid and am loving the minimalist style of writing that matches the main character’s quirky personality.

Wish You Were here is the first ‘covid’ novel I’ve read. Highly recommend it, if you are a Jodi Picoult fan, which I am. (if you’re not, then this is probably too much of that).

Speaking of how authors are dealing with this topic in their literature.

Cannot wait to read Frank Bruni’s The Beauty of Dusk. I first met Frank when he was Rome bureau chief for the Times, and actually joined him for a few of his trial restaurant reviews before he became the restaurant critic (and is most likely how most of you know him). His new memoir speaks about discovering that he had gone blind overnight in one eye and how that changed his life.

Leah Koenig interviewed me about capers for Epicurious.

My friend Gillian has started a new newsletter! You’ll find lots of lists and guides to her favorite places in Italy (including of course Ponza , Venice and Rome!) as well as other places she travels to, like Paris.

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WHAT I’M WATCHING

Am I the last person to discover Somebody Somewhere? It’s glorious and so sweet. The perfect antidote to my having binge watched the latest incredibly dark season of Ozark.

Very much enjoying The Gilded Age, but is anyone else completely bugged about the overly fake acting and sets? Downton Abbey it’s not.

Looking forward to Mindhunter because I must always be watching something to do with murder at all times.

Loved The Power of the Dog , CODA and C’mon C’mon.

WHERE I’VE BEEN

My sister Jodi came to visit with my neice and I did ALL the touristy things I usually never do. I always send guests off on their own, while I continue working. But if I’ve learned anything from these past two years it’s that spending time with friends and family is way more important than answering one more email.

We did SO much in such a short time. Including one very fun and fully packed day trip to Florence. It’s one of the easiest things to do if you are based in Rome and so I thought I’d share our itinerary with you here.

Day Trip to Florence from Rome

Before hand: Buy tickets for train and museum (see below), as well as reserve restaurant

8:00 Coffee at the Rome Train Station : I know this sounds weird, but ever since they opened up the Terazza upstairs, which looks out over the tracks, it’s my favorite thing to do. I always make sure I get to the station about 40 minutes ahead of my train (I’m one of those people). I love Eccellenze della Costiera , which hails from the Amalfi Coast. Not only do they have great coffee, they also have excellent morning pastries. It’s self serve and tables look out over the tracks. Don’t worry about missing your train: there is a time board right next to the tables so you can keep track of which track you need to get to downstairs.

8:35 Train to Florence: (Buy your ticket ahead of time on the Trenitalia site). There are trains all day long, but this one get’s you in on time to do a lot (but you don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn). If you can afford it, 1st class is the way to go. And if you buy your ticket far enough in advance, the 1st class tickets are less expensive. They also have special rates for weekends and round trip in the same day as well as groups. If you are going 1st class you will also get coffee, water and a snack served at your seat. Nice!

10:11: Arrive in Florence. The Florence train station is right in the center of town, so you’ll be walking everywhere. First stop: walk through Piazza Santa Maria Novella towards the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo. Here you’ll have a snack to see you through the visit to the Uffizzi. Florence is known for its tripe stands and Orazio Nencioni’s stand, located in the corner, is one of the best. If you’re with a group you can get a small dish of tripe and several forks to share. A panino may be too much before lunch. Your call.

Walk through Piazza della Signoria on way to Uffizi

Uffizi: Definitely get your tickets ahead of time from the museum’s official site. I got ours for entry for 10:45-11:00. They will send you a voucher which you should print out. Then you have to go to the ticket office to retrieve your tickets. Then get in line. It sounds complicated but it went very fast. We spent 2 full hours at the museum, which was fine for us. I think I spent 1 and 1/2 of those hours just gazing at the jewelery and fabric details in the Bronzinos (See below)

1:00: Leave museum and walk over the Ponte Vecchio to lunch.

1:15: Lunch at Cammillo. You can read all about one of my favorite places in Florence here. Make sure you reserve ahead of time. There menu is huge, and everything delicious. Make sure you leave room for dessert since they are excellent.

Afternoon: Walk around Florence: We took the rest of the afternoon to just wander. My sister hadn’t been here in about 30 years, and my niece never had. So we crossed over Ponte Santa Trinita and then took the following route visiting Migone to get confections; The Duomo and Babtistry (from the outside); Sbigoli (my favorite ceramics in Florence); Santa Croce (we would have gone in but it was closed for Pope related business); Aqua Flor to buy perfume; Vivoli for gelato; then just slowly made our way back to the station. If you want one more coffee before hopping on the train, I always stop at Robiglio (Via dei Medici) and also pick up some pastries to bring home to Domenico.

5:14 Return train: which got us in at 6:49 in Rome

It was a long day, but full and fun. I think we did about 22,000 steps! Which definitely off set any and all snacking. Here is a google map of all the places I mentioned

AND FINALLY…

Remember when Sophie wrote a book? And then it was supposed to come out in 2020, then it kind of came out in the UK in 2021? Finally it is officially being published in the USA! We are so excited that The Sweetness of Doing Nothing : Live Life the Italian Way with Dolce Far Niente is coming out. And frankly, it seems like more than ever we can all use a bit of advice about appreciating what we have, holding friends and family tight, and prioritizing the daily rituals we are lucky enough to have some control over.

The official publish date is April 26 and you can find the list of resources to pre-order it here. And of course we’d love it if you got it through your local independent bookstore.

Sophie has all sorts of virtual events planned, and I’ll be sending out an email with more details.

x,Elizabeth

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